Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080242977 | SYSTEMS, METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR LONGITUDINAL/TEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF PLAQUE LESIONS - Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some embodiments detection of a change in characteristics of plaque in a longitudinal exam is automated for the purpose of assessing change in disease due to therapy, patient behavior modifications or follow-up. In some embodiments, diagnosis and treatment of arterial lesions includes obtaining a plurality of sets of computed-tomography images of at least one arterial plaque lesion, wherein each set of computed-tomography images are acquired at a different time, then storing the computed-tomography images in a database and analyzing arterial plaque variations in the sets of computed-tomography images for changes in at least one parameter. | 10-02-2008 |
20090012382 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTION OF OBSTRUCTIONS IN VASCULATURE - A method for automatic detection of obstructions in vasculature in an anatomical region is presented. The method includes partitioning the anatomical region into a plurality of sub-regions based at least in part on anatomical knowledge. Further, the method includes adaptively computing a threshold intensity value corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-regions. Additionally, the method includes extracting the vasculature in each of the plurality of sub-regions based on the corresponding computed threshold intensity value, where the extracted vasculature comprises a plurality of vessel segments. The method also includes detecting an obstruction in the extracted vasculature. Systems and computer-readable medium that afford functionality of the type defined by this method is also contemplated in conjunction with the present technique. | 01-08-2009 |
20090257627 | SYSTEMS, METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTION OF ORGAN WALL THICKNESS AND CROSS-SECTION COLOR-CODING - Systems, method and apparatus in which some implementations of respiratory structure imaging includes tracking a portion in a organ, determining wall contours in the portion and color-coding confidence in the wall contours. Some implementations of the color-coding includes selecting a cross section of a portion, determining average intensity of a wall in the organ from equally space ray vectors, determining confidence from a distribution of the average intensity, labeling sections of an organ image in reference to the average intensity, and color coding sections of the image in the memory according to the confidence. | 10-15-2009 |
20100054554 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE ANALYSIS OF DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING DATA - A system and method for analyzing three-dimensional image data are disclosed herein. The system includes a processor configured to generate an overview image of at least a portion of a patient. The processor is configured to generate a cross-sectional image including a cross-sectional view of the overview image. The processor is also configured to generate a statistical image showing a parameter value relating to the portion of the patient shown in the overview image. The system also includes a visual output device connected to the processor. The visual output device is configured to display the overview image, the cross-sectional image, and the statistical image generally simultaneously. Also, the overview image, the cross-sectional image, and the statistical image are interconnected such that an update, change, or input applied to any one of the images results in an update to one or more of the other images. | 03-04-2010 |
20100150419 | METHOD OF MODIFYING A SEGMENTED VOLUME - A method of modifying a segmented volume is disclosed herein. The method includes generating a reduced-resolution segmentation mask including a segmented region. The method includes performing a morphological erosion on the segmented region to form an eroded region and performing a morphological dilation on the eroded region to form a dilated region. The method also included identifying a leakage region in the segmented volume based on the dilated region and removing the leakage region from the segmented region to form an updated segmented volume. | 06-17-2010 |
20100310036 | COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY METHOD AND APPARATUS - A method and apparatus of computed tomography includes accessing multiple-energy computed tomography data and decomposing the multiple-energy computed tomography data to generate a monochromatic image including an anatomical region. The method and apparatus also includes segmenting the anatomical region from the monochromatic image to create a segmented region and generating a composite image including the segmented region. | 12-09-2010 |
20110141102 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF VISUALIZING FEATURES IN AN IMAGE - An imaging system includes a detector configured to receive data that can be reconstructed into a three-dimensional (3D) image of an object, and a computer programmed to obtain 3D image data of the object, the 3D image data including an internal structure of the object, define a longitudinal dimension of the internal structure from the 3D image data along a length of the structure, extract a first set of parameter-of-interest data related to the internal structure from the 3D image data along a first ray extending from a first location along the length of the structure and at a first angular orientation with respect to a base vector that is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal dimension, and plot the extracted first set of parameter-of-interest data at a pixel location of a two-dimensional (2D) plot that corresponds to the first location and corresponds to the first angular orientation. | 06-16-2011 |
20110200241 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF PULMONARY EMBOLI DETECTION FOR COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY - A system and method includes acquisition of a set of image data comprising a plurality of image voxels and isolation of a set of pulmonary emboli candidates from the plurality of image voxels. The system and method also includes application of a non-linear contrast enhancement to the set of pulmonary emboli candidates, filtration of the enhanced set of pulmonary emboli candidates, output of a final set of pulmonary emboli candidates, and creation of an image comprising the final set of pulmonary emboli candidates. | 08-18-2011 |
20120076377 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BLOOD VESSEL STENOSIS VISUALIZATION AND QUANTIFICATION USING SPECTRAL CT ANALYSIS - A system and method for dual energy CT spectral imaging that provides for accurate blood vessel stenosis visualization and quantification is disclosed. The CT system includes an x-ray source configured to project x-rays toward a region-of-interest of a patient that includes a blood vessel in a stenosed condition and having a plaque material therein. The CT system also includes an x-ray detector to receive x-rays emitted by the x-ray source and attenuated by the region-of-interest, a data acquisition system (DAS) operably connected to the x-ray detector, and a computer programmed to obtain a first set of CT image data for the region-of-interest at a first chromatic energy level, obtain a second set of CT image data for the region-of-interest at a second chromatic energy level that is higher than the first chromatic energy level, and identify plaque material in the region-of-interest by analyzing the second set of CT image data. | 03-29-2012 |
20120114206 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ANALYZING AND VISUALIZING SPECTRAL CT DATA - A system and method for analyzing and visualizing spectral CT data includes access of a set of image data acquired from a patient comprising spectral CT data, identification of a plurality of target regions of interest (TROIs) and a reference region of interest (RROI) from the set of image data, extraction of a plurality of target spectral Hounsfield unit (HU) curves from image data representing the plurality of TROIs, extraction of a reference spectral HU curve from image data representing the RROI, normalization of the plurality of target spectral HU curves with respect to the reference spectral HU curve, and display of the plurality of normalized target spectral HU curves. | 05-10-2012 |
20120155617 | PHANTOM FOR SPECTRAL CT IMAGE SYSTEM CALIBRATION - A phantom includes a housing enclosing an interior volume and having a plurality of passages formed therein, wherein each passage is fluidly isolated from the interior volume. First and second inserts are included and configured to be positioned in a first passage of the plurality of passages and include materials having a known material density. The material is selected from iodine, hydroxyapatite (HAP), tricalcium phosphate (TCP), body fat, fatty plaque, sodium chloride (NaCl), gold (Au), and iron (Fe). The material of the inserts can be different materials or the same material at different densities. | 06-21-2012 |
20120243761 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ESTIMATING VASCULAR FLOW USING CT IMAGING - A system and method for estimating vascular flow using CT imaging include a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to acquire a first set of data comprising anatomical information of an imaging subject, the anatomical information comprises information of at least one vessel. The instructions further cause the computer to process the anatomical information to generate an image volume comprising the at least one vessel, generate hemodynamic information based on the image volume, and acquire a second set of data of the imaging subject. The computer is also caused to generate an image comprising the hemodynamic information in combination with a visualization based on the second set of data. | 09-27-2012 |
20120314922 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN CT IMAGING - A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to acquire an image comprising image data reconstructed from an imaging device. The instructions further cause the computer to apply a bloom reduction algorithm to the image configured to iteratively reduce a blooming of high-density objects in the image. | 12-13-2012 |
20140050378 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING MATERIALS OR DISEASE STATES USING MULTI-ENERGY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY - The disclosed embodiments relate to characterizing or quantifying an element or composition of interest within an imaged volume. In accordance with one embodiment, high and low energy images are acquired of a volume of interest using a polychromatic emission source. The high and low energy images are processed to generate monochromatic images. Based on the observed attenuation within the monochromatic images, one or more elements or compositions of interest are characterized within the imaged volume. | 02-20-2014 |